In some modern kitchens, stacked, built-in, appliances are used to conserve space and to provide an aesthetically pleasing look. Such appliances can include, for example, conventional ovens, microwave ovens, steam ovens, warming drawers and storage drawers.
In these stacked combinations, the weight of an upper appliance is sometimes supported by the appliances below it. In the case of an upper appliance stacked on a lower appliance where both appliances have the same body width, it is relatively easy to transfer the weight of the upper appliance through the side walls of the lower appliance and to the ground. However, when the upper appliance has a body width that is less than the body width of the lower appliance, provision needs to be made in the lower appliance to transfer the weight of the upper appliance in such a way that the lower appliance is not deformed. In this situation, the weight of the upper appliance must be transferred to the outside structure of the lower appliance. This weight transfer is further complicated by the need to allow for upper appliances having different body widths.
In addition to the above described needs it is preferable, to reduce the cost and complexity of manufacture, to provide one support structure that can accommodate upper appliances of multiple different body widths.
It is desirable to reduce the complexity of products assembled in the factory by providing a modular design concept. This involves the individual products being offered to the consumer as a freestanding individual unit or as a combination unit which can include units stacked on top of each other. The varying widths of the upper appliances (for example, microwave ovens and steam ovens) also cause additional support to be required when attached to a lower appliance having a standard width.
Domestic appliances often have a service area located on top of the appliance that includes control electronics and other serviceable devices. In the case of the lower appliance, is often necessary to remove the upper appliance from the lower appliance to gain access to the lower appliance's service area. In the case of built-in appliance combination units, this requires the entire combination unit to be removed from the cabinet and then the upper appliance to be removed from the lower appliance. Because stacked appliance combination units can be extremely heavy, it is often difficult for one service technician to completely remove the combination unit from the cabinet in which it is installed. As a result, typical service calls can require two technicians to pull the combination unit out of the cabinet and to push it back into the cabinet, but typically only one technician is needed to actually perform the diagnostics and repairs.
In light of the above, there is a need for a mounting system and universal support structure for a combination unit that (1) allows access to the service area of the lower appliance without having to completely remove the combination unit from its cabinet, and (2) can properly transfer the weight of upper appliances having varying widths such that the weight of the upper appliance is transferred to structural members of the lower unit that exist at the outside areas of the lower unit.